Overview

Deaths have decreased for the third consecutive year, 39,107 people died in motor-vehicle crashes in 2019. However, motor-vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death for people for every single year of life from age 4 to 12 and from 14 to 22 and a leading killer in all age groups.

Between 1913 and 2019, motor-vehicle deaths per 10,000 registered vehicles decreased 96%, from 33 to 1.41. In 1913, only 1.3 million vehicles were registered, and 4,200 people died on the road. In 2019, 277 million vehicles were registered and 39,107 people died on the road.

In 2019, the number of deaths decreased 0.8% and the mileage death rate of 1.20 per 100 million vehicle miles was down 1.6% from the 2018 rate of 1.22.

Medically consulted injuries in motor-vehicle incidents totaled 4.5 million in 2019, and total motor-vehicle injury costs were estimated at $463.0 billion. Costs include wage and productivity losses, medical expenses, administrative expenses, motor-vehicle property damage, and employer costs.

Miles traveled increased 0.7%, the number of registered vehicles went up 1.5%, and the population grew 0.3%. As a result, the mileage death rate decreased 1.6%, the vehicle death rate decreased 0.7%, and the population death rate was down 0.8% from 2018 to 2019.

Compared to 2010, 2019 motor-vehicle deaths increased by more than 10%. However, the mileage and registration death rates changed less than 1% since 2010.

2019 motor-vehicle crash highlights

The National Safety Council (NSC) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) count motor-vehicle crash deaths using somewhat different criteria. NSC counts total motor-vehicle-related fatalities – both traffic and non-traffic – that occur within one year of the crash. This is consistent with the data compiled from death certificates by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). NSC uses NCHS death certificate data, less intentional fatalities, as the final count of unintentional deaths from all causes.

NHTSA counts only traffic fatalities that occur within 30 days of the crash in its Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). This omits about 800 to 1,000 motor-vehicle-related deaths each year that occur more than 30 days after the crash. Non-traffic fatalities – those that occur in parking lots, private roads, and driveways and account for 900 to 1,900 deaths annually – also are omitted. By using a 30-day cutoff, NHTSA can issue a “final” count about eight months after the reference year.

Provided below is a summary of NSC and NHTSA traffic crash data for 2019:

Motor-vehicle crash outcomes, United States, 2019

NSC estimates:

NHTSA estimates:

Source: NHTSA for deaths, injuries, and crashes in bottom half of table. All other figures are NSC estimates.